Interview: Dennis Quaid on A Dog’s Purpose

They say each cat has nine lives but what if it’s actually man’s best friend who’s walked the earth before?

Enter Buddy (voiced by Josh Gad), a chirpy golden retriever puppy saved from certain death by a little boy named Ethan and his mother, Elizabeth (Juliet Rylance). Buddy and Ethan soon become inseparable, and the caring canine is often the boy’s only friend as he gets picked on at school and scolded by his alcoholic father.

But this isn’t the only life Buddy has to lead…

In turns both funny and tragic, it was memories of his own dog—a basset hound named Gertrude—that drew Hollywood heavyweight Dennis Quaid (The Right Stuff, The Day After Tomorrow) to the film.

“That’s where it got me. It’s a story really of unconditional love and our dogs are always there for us, no matter what, no matter what kind of foul mood we’re in. They can read your thoughts, read your emotions, they celebrate with you and they’re there to comfort you. We do for them and they do for us, it’s unconditional love.”

Although WC Fields famously warned filmmakers never to work with animals or children, Quaid has had a different experience in films like The Parent Trap and Yours, Mine and Ours.

“I find it really great to work with animals and kids because they’re very much in the moment, more so than a lot of self-involved actors are. Their egos aren’t there and things happen that are outside of the script that end up being great.”

“I love all the classic dog movies and I think this is one too. It’s like Old Yeller without the tragic ending.”

A Dog’s Purpose is in cinemas everywhere from May 5

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